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Here in the Twin Cities we have "skyways" - second story connectors between the buildings downtown that permit us Minnesotans to get around without going outdoors in the cold weather.

I headed out of my building, going to pick up something to eat, and in the skyway between my office and the next block was a woman I guessed to be in her mid-late 30s. She was clean, dressed in a winter jacket and dark slacks. She held a neatly printed sign that said

Husband died
Three kids to support
Anything will help.

I walked about half a block past her with a growing sadness. I turned around, went back to her and pressed a five-dollar bill in her palm and said "Good luck." I was beginning to get teary. She looked at me with an expression of abject gratefulness and said "thank you."

I am financially a bit strapped myself these days with a move impending at the edge of the month, but there was no way I could in good conscience deny her what I could give. Smaller lunches for a couple of days won't hurt me in the least. But maybe her kids will have something decent to eat tonight. At least I hope so.

$5? Seriously? Wow. They'd have been better off to ignore this person. Of course the point of the thread is that the government should step in and help this family. If this person really cared they would have referred this woman to the Salvation Army or something. That said, there is the possibility that this woman in need is your classic panhandler. If this is the case, then she was probably making more money begging than the OP makes working. And that's tax free money.

You'd think that at some time, their atrophied brains would fire a couple of electrons across working synapses that would link this economy with their god, O Blah Blah the Magnificent.

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.C. S. LewisDo not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives. (Are you listening Barry)?:mad:Ayn Rand

I've seen similar signs held by beggars in the large cities before. They are almost always BS. Last year in Indy, one of the more popular one's held by the women beggars were "Pregnant, unemployed and homeless" They all carry a cup with a few coins in it, but no dollars. Yet I stood there and watched as dollars were put in the cup, only to be quickly put into their pockets after the doner walked past. They are nothing more then cons. They know where to hang out, how to act, and what to say. And that money usually is used to feed a drug or alcohol problem.

So the little bounce above shows nothing more then an idiot who fell for another sob story.

I've seen similar signs held by beggars in the large cities before. They are almost always BS. Last year in Indy, one of the more popular one's held by the women beggars were "Pregnant, unemployed and homeless" They all carry a cup with a few coins in it, but no dollars. Yet I stood there and watched as dollars were put in the cup, only to be quickly put into their pockets after the doner walked past. They are nothing more then cons. They know where to hang out, how to act, and what to say. And that money usually is used to feed a drug or alcohol problem.

So the little bounce above shows nothing more then an idiot who fell for another sob story.

Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.
Ronald Reagan

We could say they are spending like drunken sailors. That would be unfair to drunken sailors, they're spending their OWN money.
Ronald Reagan

We have the homeless here in large numbers. They have a favorite corner that I pass frequently that is clearly posted with anti-panhandler signs, but the signs apparently only apply to the literate. They hold up pathetic tales of woe designed to trigger your hand-pocket reflex. Surprisingly, most are "Veterans" down on their luck or have children to feed. They spend hours at this and often tag out to be relieved of their arduous task by another equally hungry Vet or mother trying to feed her chidrens.

Have they given up the gas station tactic where they approach you with "their mother died and they ran out of gas trying to get home, could you spare, blah, blah???" I haven't been assaulted with that one for a couple of years now.

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.C. S. LewisDo not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives. (Are you listening Barry)?:mad:Ayn Rand

we got a guy that comes into work (I started working part-time at Taco Bell as a shift lead) that begs for a couple of bucks for food from employees. Sometimes he does some work, but most of the time he gets the money either from the girls or from picking up bottles to return for the deposit. Personally I want to kick the girls and tell them all they are doing is empowering his "lifestyle".

"Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings..." Patrick Henry

We have the homeless here in large numbers. They have a favorite corner that I pass frequently that is clearly posted with anti-panhandler signs, but the signs apparently only apply to the literate. They hold up pathetic tales of woe designed to trigger your hand-pocket reflex. Surprisingly, most are "Veterans" down on their luck or have children to feed. They spend hours at this and often tag out to be relieved of their arduous task by another equally hungry Vet or mother trying to feed her chidrens.

Have they given up the gas station tactic where they approach you with "their mother died and they ran out of gas trying to get home, could you spare, blah, blah???" I haven't been assaulted with that one for a couple of years now.

I still get that one once in a while. For the so-called veterans, just ask them what their MOS was. In literally decades of being hassled by panhandlers claiming to be vets, I've had a grand total of three who actually knew what an MOS was.